The goal of the Fed maneuvers is to spur on borrowing and spending by holding down long-term interest rates in hopes it will boost economic growth and reduce unemployment, which currently stands at 8.1 percent.

In announcing the decision, the Fed made clear that recent economic data are worrying the U.S. central bank and that it will continue its effort to boost growth until it becomes clear the economy is much stronger.

“To support continued progress toward maximum employment and price stability, the committee expects that a highly accommodative stance of monetary policy will remain appropriate for a considerable time after the economic recovery strengthens,” the Fed said in a statement following the end of a two-day meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee.

The Fed has been under increasing political scrutiny for the steps it has taken since the financial crisis to try to juice the economy with several Republicans charging it is going too far and some Democrats imploring it to do more.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and other Fed officials maintain politics does not influence their decisions but with the economy playing a central role in the presidential election the pressure on the central bank is unusually intense.

“We have tried very, very hard, and I think we’ve been successful, at the Federal Reserve to be nonpartisan and apolitical and make our decisions based entirely on the state of the economy,” Bernanke said at a news conference on Thursday.

Due to partisan gridlock, Congress has not taken significant steps to try to boost the economy this year, which leaves the Fed as the government body most able to take stimulative actions.

In a speech on Thursday, Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) argued that regardless of congressional inaction the Fed is going beyond its mandate and is treading on Congress’s turf.

“The Fed is consistently getting deeper and deeper into fiscal-type waters,” he said in a speech at a conference hosted by the American Banker. “Fiscal matters are the domain of the Congress. So I find it interesting when I read various Fed apologists opining with their concerns of Congress threatening the Fed’s independence. I would argue that any additional scrutiny they are receiving has been brought upon by themselves and by their extreme actions.”